The biggest question the Giants face as they open spring training Tuesday might have little to do with them and more to do with the team downstate. Namely, did the Dodgers buy themselves a National League West title?

History suggests it is not that simple. The richest teams do not always win. Though all eyes in baseball will focus on Don Mattingly's $230 million team, the Giants need to look away if only because they cannot alter what happens in Los Angeles, except when they meet 19 times in the regular season.

The defending World Series champions have plenty of pressing questions as they embark on the long trek toward what they hope is their first repeat division championship. Here are the top five:

1. Can they avoid a letdown? The 2011 Giants could not, and they missed the postseason a year after winning the World Series. Granted, Buster Posey's season-ending injury in May was the principal cause, but some Giants struggled to play to their 2010 capabilities.

Most notable, in the afterglow of the World Series, the Giants gave first baseman Aubrey Huff a two-year, $22 million contract. He was a bust, and his offseason workout dedication became an issue.

Now, Angel Pagan returns with a four-year, $40 million contract that has been panned by some in the industry as an overreach, and 37-year-old Marco Scutaro re-signed for three years and $20 million.

Pagan, Scutaro and their teammates must play with a 2012 urgency in 2013.

2. Is this Tim Lincecum's S.F. swan song? Lincecum will be a free agent for the first time after this season. Who knows whether he will rebound after his worst season and become a $100 million pitcher or struggle again and have to take what he can get next winter?

The other "who knows?" question is whether the Giants will be interested in bringing him back either way.

That this question is pertinent barely three years after Lincecum won his second consecutive Cy Young Award shows how mercurial his career has become.

3. Can manager Bruce Bochy win again with a mix-and-match bullpen? Despite Sergio Romo's shutdown performance in the postseason, Bochy is not naming Romo his sole closer for 2013 and has said different pitchers will throw the ninth inning.

After 2012, the fans need to surrender any doubt and concede that Bochy and pitching coach Dave Righetti know what they are doing. More important, all the relievers are accustomed to being used this way.

The question within the question is whether hard-throwing prospect Heath Hembree can debut in 2013 and try to wrest the job from Romo and others.

4. Can Hunter Pence inspire with his bat as much as with his words? Like Lincecum and Barry Zito, Pence is entering a contract year. His Knute Rockne act from the postseason was well-documented. The Giants also need him to hit.

Pence did have some big hits down the stretch, but he hit .219 with an equally anemic .671 OPS in 248 Giants plate appearances, striking out once every 3.65 at-bats.

The Giants surrendered top catching prospect Tommy Joseph and Nate Schierholtz to get Pence. Now, they will pay him $13.8 million hoping he can provide the production in right field that consistently eludes this team.

5. Will the Brandons settle in? Shortstop Brandon Crawford and first baseman Brandon Belt made their marks as they helped the team win the World Series. Belt finally looked relaxed at the plate and finished the year with a nice OPS-plus of 124. (One hundred represents the league average.)

Crawford hit .248 with Gold Glove-caliber defense. The Giants gladly would take that again from their No. 8 hitter, but Crawford expects more after his OPS rose from .660 in July to .688 in August and .776 in September.

Consistency from the two Brandons would serve the Giants well, but young players can backslide at the plate. However, defense never slumps, as the saying goes, and these two are among the best glove men at their positions.

Spring things

As the A's and Giants begin spring training, here are some notable dates for each team: